


Against All Odds

by Loverer



Category: Tennis RPF
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, Fluff, Injury, M/M, Recovery
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-21
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2019-05-26 10:58:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14999450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loverer/pseuds/Loverer
Summary: 2016With major injuries, recurrent losses and unrelenting setbacks, 2016 was prophesied as the last chapter of an once-illustrious era: the dominance of Federer and Nadal.This story is about them, their dwindling careers and their ever-lasting companionship.





	Against All Odds

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [a normal life](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14059554) by [Eliane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eliane/pseuds/Eliane). 



> Hello all!!
> 
> As mentioned above, I was so amazed by Eliane's fic on the 2017-18 period, where Rafa was injured, I simply fell in love it. The idea for doing something like this surely stems from there.
> 
> I guess 2016 was a truly heartbreaking year for all the Fedal fans. It was simply crushing. And there were just so many doubts of whether we will ever see these two play at the same level again. 
> 
> I've wanted to do a fic on 2016 for some time now but I didn't get around to it until a few days ago. I was also surprised with how much time it takes to dig up old articles and stories and string them together. It's of course totally worth it though!
> 
> This is something I've never tried before and I am very much looking forward to seeing how it goes. 
> 
> I hope you like it and like always, comments are very welcome :)
> 
> xx

We welcomed 2016 together, lying on the deck of your yatch off your seaside home. It was a private affair, with only the stars above the Mediterranean sea for company. I held your hand firmly as the clock ticked midnight and you placed the softest of kisses on my lips, whispering gently in my ear like you always do, "Happy New Year Rogi." 

\--- 

I found myself smothered by butterfly kisses, the Mallorcan sun and a warmth I only felt when I was so close to your body. I blinked my eyes open and found you hovering above me, smiling a smile that would dull the sun and looking at me with something terrifyingly close to devotion. 

I smiled up at you and your smile grew even brighter. I didn't know how that was even possible. 

When you dipped your tongue into my mouth a moment later, all thought abandoned me. I was overwhelmed by your warmth, your sun-kissed skin and most of all, the smell of sea that you took with you everywhere you went. 

It was a beautiful start to the new year. I couldn't have asked for more. 

\--- 

Brisbane 2016 and Qatar 2016 

Brisbane was as warm as Mallorca but it lacked something fundamentally soothing to my soul. It lacked your warmth, your beauty and it lacked your smile. 

Still, I was not complaining. 

It was the first Monday of the new year; the streets were busy as the evening set on the Brisbane skyline. There was a thickness to the air today, or so I felt anyway. I wasn't feeling particularly great today. I felt stuffy and run down. By tomorrow I reckoned I would be fine. 

"Is afternoon in Qatar" you told me over the phone, your voice tingling with happiness, as is often the case when we talk on the phone. 

"It's not too hot right?" 

"A bit... Is okay. First match tomorrow, I look forward no? No complains about weather" 

I chuckle at that. "Uh-huh. No bother for you, Mr I'm-from-Spain-I'm-used-to-heat. It's just us mountain-dwellers who suffer" 

You grin at that. "Si mountain dwellers..." 

We fall into a comfortable silence for a while, happy to simply listen to the breathing of the other. Wasn't it fascinating how a phone could make you feel vividly close to someone who was, in fact, some 18 hours away? 

"Rogi," you speak softly, "you not well today?" 

"Why do you say that?" The simple answer would be to say 'yes I am feeling a bit low' but why bother you before your match tomorrow? 

"You sound um, I not know the word, when you speak from your nose?" 

"Nasal?" 

"Hm. You sound like that..." 

I smile at my own naivety. To fool you about my health is a skill I have yet to master. "Yeah, blocked nose, sore throat... Nothing big though" 

You wince from the other side, "take care no? How is Charlene now? Her cold better?" 

"Hm. Turns out she had flu." 

"She had flu?" You almost squeak in my ear. 

"Yeah... It's all good now, we'll see how it goes for me.. I don't think I've got it, it would've showed up by now." 

You make an unhappy sound but agree with my conclusion and we leave it there. I wish you luck for your first match the next day and you tell me to take it easy. 

We hang up and almost on cue the first bout of sneezes, first of many things to come, descends upon me. 

The next day is no better. I request my match to be shifted to Thursday and the tournament director is more than happy to do that. I take rest, as it advised by everyone around me, and I'm confined to my bed for the rest of day. 

I watch your match sniffling on tissues and cheer for you with all my hoarse voice. Mirka does not look amused and I grin at her sheepishly. It's your match! How can I not cheer? 

By the time you finish your match, it's very late here. So we can't talk till next day. Of course, I text you congrats on the first win of the season and wish for many more this year. 

Thursday dawns and the doctors have made it pretty clear - it's the flu. 

"You sure you want to play Roger?" 

"Yeah I think I'm okay to play... I'll see how I feel out there. If it's really bad, I won't play the next one." 

"But Rogi, you'll make it worse no? You need rest." 

"I know. It feels wrong to pull out last minute though. I feel like I'd let them down" 

You give up trying to convince me and I play my first match. Fortunately, I win. 

After the pressers and the interviews and everyone telling me to get well soon, I'm tucked in bed and given a bowl of warm soup to finish. 

Mirka is there but she has to take care of the kids and she has to make sure they stay away from me, lest the cycle starts all over again. And for her to take care of the kids, she has to stay away from me too. No good if she catches the flu as well. So, I'm left alone to rest in my room. Luckily for me, you're only a phone away. 

"You know Rogi? It takes only one virus to infect you... which mean that you should not go near your kids at all." 

"Yes yes, I know. They've already left me to mope on my own anyway!" 

You chuckle softly, "Aw Rogi. You're not alone. You got your phone and on your phone you got me. And I will never let you feel lonely no?" 

Maybe it's the flu working my brain up or maybe it's being away from you, but I can't stop the sudden swing of emotion that catches me off-guard at your words. I cry on the phone and all the while you whisper soothing words of comfort in my ear. 

Later, lying in bed as the night ticked away, I feel the only good thing about being unwell is all the attention I get from you. It sounds almost funny but it's true. Of course, it's not like you care less at other times; you always care for me. But often you're happy for me to be the leader, to do the caring and the planning and everything. But when I'm unwell, I see a totally different side to you. A side which is so protective, it's almost parental. 

I won't admit it to anyone, but I like this side of yours even more than the shy and demure lover that you usually are. 

I think about about this for a long time and somewhere in this mist of your memories, I fall into a peaceful, dreamless slumber. 

\--- 

I wake up with a start on Saturday morning. I check my phone for any messeges from you but there are none. It's my semi-final against Thiem today. Which means it's your final against Djokovic. I am itching to text you but you must be sleeping right now and I don't want to disturb you so I get ready for the match instead. 

I linger in the locker room before my match but I'm already feeling drained, even before the match has started. I really don't know how I will get through today and then tomorrow too. The fatigue of playing through the flu is catching up with me now and I feel faint. 

I realise I'm panicking. Deep breathes, I tell myself. And then my phone beeps and I'm opening it even before I register the beep. 

It's you. 

'Good luck Rogi! Play well, I'm watching and cheering!' 

I smile and text back. 

'Thank you Raf! Good luck to you too baby! Vamos!' 

And then the speakers request my arrival at the corridor leading to the stadium. I put my phone away and try to get my mind into the zone - in sync with my body. My mind has not betrayed me in years, but the body can be far more treacherous, I know. 

I surprisingly won the match 6-1 6-4 against Thiem. 

I want to stay up for your match and cheer for you but the flu gets the better off me and I don't even realise my eyelids drifting close. The next morning I wake up to find the score of your match. You lost 6-1 6-2. 

A crushing loss. You're not annoyed with your defeat. In fact, you're very stoic, with only one sentence summarising the match: "he played better than me Rogi" 

Your words were brave but your tone was tired. It was almost hollow. And it broke my heart in ways you cannot imagine. It would be your first loss of the year and to have it so brutally handed to you was demotivating at best. 

In that moment I ached to be with you, take you in my arms and comfort you. 

Unfortunately I still had a match to play and I was reminded of that by Seve when he gave me a sharp look, seeing me still on the phone with you. 

Whether it was the hangover from your defeat or my own body giving way for the fatigue to finally take its toll, I'm not sure. But I lost my finals against Raonic in straight sets too. 6-4 6-4. 

Later in the evening we joked about how I still won 5 more games than you. We often joke about our defeats like this. I guess once you are rivals, you compete even in your losses! Or maybe it's just us.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so that's it for now!
> 
> I'm planning on doing one chapter for one/two tournaments each and see how it goes... This is most likely going to be a rather long fic though!
> 
> Hope you liked it and pls do let me know.
> 
> Thanks for reading! XD
> 
> xx
> 
> PS this is the first time I've tried a first-person narrative and I must say it is an empowering but scary experience. Hats off to those who've done it before!!


End file.
